The Music of the Night
by Aeterna
Summary: Late night wanderings and piano sessions bring two Slytherin outcasts together.


~The Music of the Night~  
  
A/N: People have shown Blaise Zabini as a guy and as a girl ... somehow everyone seems to think (s)he's significant ... well, I don't know, but I like the name, and Draco needs a girl ;)  
  
~~*~*~~  
  
~*~  
  
Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation   
  
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination  
  
~*~  
  
Blaise was used to roaming the halls at night, and she'd never been caught once. It was her chance, her only chance, to be alone. She spent the entire day around snobbish Slytherins and it always gave her a dull headache. She was tired of feigning arrogance. She was tired of pretending to be interested in their idle conversations.  
  
But she loved the darkness. The thrill of wandering through shadowy staircases and moonlit corridors had never worn away, even now in fifth year. It was intoxicating.  
  
~*~  
  
Silently the senses abandon their defences   
  
~*~  
  
She found herself in the entrance hall. It looked different in the nighttime. Sunlight made it grand and towering, but darkness made it even more magnificent. You could look up and strain your eyes however much you wished, but it was impossible to see the ceiling. On the ground, the gray stone shone a warm, pale blue where the moonlight touched it.  
  
~*~  
  
Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendour   
  
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender   
  
~*~  
  
Blaise walked into a patch of moonlight and stood there, staring through the window, watching the moon smile down at her. The very air around her was filled with the pure light that only the moon could provide ... the kind of light that the sun can only wish for.  
  
~*~  
  
Turn your face away from the garish light of day   
  
Turn your face away from cold, unfeeling light   
  
~*~  
  
A minute sound drove Blaise away from the hall. She had to be careful. She had a perfect track record until now (Filch still had no idea) and she couldn't ruin it.  
  
She felt herself drawn downwards, toward the dungeons. She wasn't sure what she'd find there, but she had always been one to follow her instincts. In her experience, they were always right.  
  
As she descended, the darkness became almost tangible, the air cooler and lighter with every passing step ... and something drew her on, a raw feeling that she couldn't explain even to herself, but she trusted it.  
  
~*~  
  
And listen to the music of the night   
  
~*~  
  
Then she heard it ... softly at first, but very distinctly. A piano, playing a mournful song that sent chills through her. The very quality of the tone made her imagine the soft moonlight in the entrance hall. She felt herself being swept away, and swept closer to this achingly beautiful music.  
  
~*~  
  
Close you eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams   
  
Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before   
  
~*~  
  
The music called to her, and she followed blindly, every step bringing her even closer, making the music louder, more intense, more magnificent.  
  
~*~  
  
Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar   
  
And you'll live as you've never lived before   
  
~*~  
  
Before she knew it, she found herself in front of a door, which was slightly ajar. Moonlight escaped from the room and she watched as it carresed her outstreched hand ... as she reached to open the door ...  
  
~~*~*~~  
  
~*~  
  
Softly, deftly, music shall caress you   
  
Hear it, feel it secretly possess you   
  
~*~  
  
Draco's hands danced across the piano. He hardly had any control over them, but he didn't mind. This time he spent alone was the only time he had. The only time away from Crabbe and Goyle and Potter and weasley and all of those other arrogant fools. He had given up on trying to show them how foolish they were. It only made him look foolish.  
  
But here, in this solitary room, bathed in moonlight, enveloped in his own music, he found peace and beauty. He found a light inside of him that he had never dared believe was there.  
  
~*~  
  
Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind   
  
In this darkness which you know you cannot fight   
  
The darkness of the music of the night   
  
~*~  
  
Soon after discovering the piano five years ago (his mother wanted him to be well-rounded) he discovered something more beautiful than anything he had ever encountered before: the minor key. It was mournfully beautiful ... gracefully melancholy. The tones vibrated against eachother in a manner that sent chills through him, but left him calm and contented.  
  
He needed it more than ever now. He needed to be lost ... he only wished he could be lost forever, but even now, immersed in the music, the words of his father's letter came to him ... the ghost of his father's voice echoing in his ear, "It is time, my son. It is time for you to recieve the honor of entering Lord Voldemort's ranks ..."  
  
~*~  
  
Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world   
  
Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before   
  
~*~  
  
He struck a forceful chord, as if saying an emphatic "NO!" to his father's voice inside his head. He listened intently to the glowing vibrations as they diminished almost into nothingness, still ringing subtly as they died away completely. Only when the shadow of the sound had ceased did he lift his fingers gently from the keys.  
  
~*~  
  
Let your soul take you where you long to go   
  
Only then can you belong to me   
  
~*~  
  
A small sound coming from the door captured Draco's attention and he looked up to see someone standing there ... someone familiar. Blaise. He'd seen her many times before, chatting with people in the common room, sometimes sitting alone in silence, but her sudden appearance struck him tonight.  
  
~*~  
  
Floating, falling, sweet intoxication   
  
~*~  
  
The moonlight illuminated her dark auburn hair and sent her hazel eyes sparkling. She was standing still, her mouth slightly open in a strange expression of transfixion ... almost like she was hypnotized. He imagined that he must have exactly the same expression on his own face.  
  
~*~  
  
Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation   
  
~*~  
  
She moved quite suddenly. She crossed the room to where he was sitting and laid a tentative hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Keep playing," she said softly.  
  
~*~  
  
Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in   
  
To the harmony which dreams alone can write   
  
~*~  
  
Draco needed no second bidding. He struck an opening chord unlike any he'd ever played before. He surprised himself with the sweetness and beauty of this song ... this song that he played for her. He was elated as he had never been before. The beauty and purity of the tones reverberated in his body ... echoed in his soul.  
  
~*~  
  
The power of the music of the night   
  
~*~  
  
When he finally - almost regretfully - finished, he found that she was now sitting next to him on the piano bench.  
  
~*~  
  
You alone can make my song take flight   
  
Help me make the music of the night   
  
~*~  
  
Looking into her eyes, Draco found that he was truly content, not from the temporary escape that his music provided, but from something even deeper ... even stronger, and he knew that he would never let it go. 


End file.
